


Together in Child Raising

by LovingAlex



Series: Domestic AF [10]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Adopted Children, Child raising, Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, Family Shenanigans, I mean, M/M, Messy, Parent-Child Relationship, Parenthood, Trans Character, all the tags for children are so dark wtf, there's children of course its gonna be messy, why is there no tags for that?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-08-20 21:07:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20234377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovingAlex/pseuds/LovingAlex
Summary: Merlin and Arthur decide to adopt children.Shenanigans and messes follow, obviously.These two never get a break, why should now be any different?





	1. Another eventful holiday

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter is just something that’ll kick everything off. Unlike the other parts of the DAF series, this will have multiple short n sweet chapters. Each one will sort of be in chronological order...

It’s been a long Christmas day. 

They had decided to host Christmas dinner and presents at their house this year since it was their first Christmas married and while living in their house. They also had room for everyone to move around more freely.

Everyone in their ragtag family had eaten dinner and were all gathered in the living room to open presents. 

It was a family tradition to open one present in the morning and then open all the rest as a group after dinner. Arthur remembers waking his mother as a child and the two of them, and a rather grumpy Uther, would open all the presents in the morning before cooking breakfast together. 

When his mother passed, Uther stopped joining him and the presents became more materialistic than sentimental as the older man buried himself in work.

Merlin squeezes his hand from beside him on the floor. It brings him back from his musings of the past. The blond soaks in the comfort of the room around him. 

This-- this was nice... Everyone sitting together, full of holiday feast and tossing about friendly banter. 

Yes, this he could get used to. Even if it took all day to get here, it was a good ending to the chaos of the season.

…

They go around in a circle, each person opening their presents one after another. Arthur is last and thought he opened all of his presents when Merlin hands him an envelope. He didn’t see him pick it up, so he must’ve had it hidden in a pocket or something. 

He raises an eyebrow at his husband and cautiously takes it. 

Inside is a letter. A rather formal one and he recognizes the legal practice insignia at the top as the firm they usually go to. 

Arthur tilts his head in confusion, mumbling out loud what he reads:

“Dear Mr. Emrys-Pendragon, we have reviewed your request and are happy to accept the case. Please contact us when is convenient so that we can set up a meeting. We need to go over all the required forms together in order to have your adoption go as smoothly as possible--”

His eyes snap up to Merlin’s. His husband sits with a tiny smile, calm as can be. Like he didn’t just give Arthur news that could change their lives forever. 

Arthur’s vision blurs and the paper crinkles in his shaking hands. “Adoption?” he manages to squeeze out of his clenched lungs.

“I know you’ve always loved kids. That you’ve been wanting some of your own…. And since we’ve finished settling into this new period in our lives, what better time to maybe get a kid or two?” Merlin reasons with a nervous shrug. 

Arthur doesn’t let the man continue his ramble of reasons. Instead, he pulls him into a tight embrace, tears finally escaping to soak into Merlin’s ridiculous ugly sweater. He doesn’t even care that he’s crying in front of everyone.

Merlin holds him back as applause and congratulations ring around the room from their family and friends. 

Arthur distinctly ignores Gwaine’s request to be the godfather and throwing references to him being a great Sirius. Leon chucks an empty box at him so Arthur doesn’t have to.


	2. Mix Matching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I knew it was a mistake to get the twins matching clothes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters are going to be shorter than normal installments, but I’m going to keep the postings every other week so that my reservoir stays stocked, my writing doesn’t get rushed, and the fact that I already have everything scheduled and planned out, so I don’t want to change everything XD

He knew it was a bad idea. 

Merlin just knew it from the very start it was a bad idea...

I mean, having your twins match is adorable and all, but it was such a bad idea…

After going through the process of adoption, the husbands are now the happy parents of two lovely 4 year old girls. Twin girls by the name of Ella and Gwen.

When shopping for new clothes, the two of them had the great idea of getting them all matching outfits. It was cute and their daughters deserved cute styles to match their cute smiles.

What they didn’t deserve was the fact that they were different sizes and their two dads always mixed things up.

Ella was slightly bigger than Gwen, but the clothes didn’t look much different until they were put on. They were constantly having to redress the girls because Ella’s shirt would be too tight and Gwen’s would be too baggy, or Ella couldn’t fasten her pants while Gwen’s were falling off.

The girls were understanding, though. They would just giggle and tease their dads that the clothes were backwards again. At one point, they learned how to do it on their own. Whenever clothes for the day were laid out, it didn’t matter which pile belonged to which girl, the girls would know which one to really grab. Merlin was so proud at how clever his daughters were.

Which is more than what the three of them could say for Arthur. Even after the girls figured it out, he was still fumbling around. Sometimes the blond would remember to check the sizes like his husband does, but he still  _ continuously  _ gets them wrong. 

In Arthur’s defense, he wasn’t used to female sizes and kid clothes. Now put him in front of a rack of business suits and he’d be a pro at knowing which suit is what type, by who, and what material. Open the girls’ closet in their room and he’s a blank slate.

Luckily, the girls quickly grow out of the clothes they got them and they have to shop for all new wardrobes. The girls will be going to school in a few months and they had to stalk up now that the kids will most likely get dirty more often once they make friends.

This time, the men know better. In fact, they let the girls pick their own clothes.

Gwen drags Arthur towards the pretty purple unicorns and princesses as soon as they enter the store, leaving Merlin to help Ella find what she wanted.

Ella gives Merlin’s hand a little tug to get his attention. He crouches to her level and asks what kind of things she was hoping to find. 

Timidly, Ella asks if they could go over to the section where there was a bunch of dinosaurs and robot patterns with greens and blues.

Merlin gives his daughter a smile, “Sure thing, little one, let’s head right over.”

Ella’s eyes widen in awe. “Really? We can? Everyone always said I can’t wear stuff like that cause they’re for boys...”

He ruffles his daughter’s hair, trying to hide the sick feeling that causes the prickles behind his eyes. “Of course! Just cause things are in blue or has robots instead of princesses, doesn’t mean you can’t wear it. Now let’s go find you the coolest, most awesome dinosaur shirt, yeah?”

The little girl looks like she’s gonna burst into tears of happiness as she drags her dad over to the boy section of the kids department.


	3. All the Colors of the Rainbow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I think someone had a little accident with the finger paint."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This happens not too long after the girls are adopted. Long enough for them all to be settled in, but not too long for them to be old enough for school yet.

With a stretch, Merlin steps away from his work desk. He’s a little peckish. He should go get a snack, maybe check on the girls on the way. Hopefully Arthur hasn’t been too overrun by their endless energy.

He steps out of his messy cave called an office and heads down the hall. Two tiny voices chatter away in the girls’ bedroom, but as soon as he glances into the room, he freezes.

The two people in the room freeze too.

Ella stands in front of her sister, who sits on their little red plastic chair. At least…. It  ** _used_ ** to be just red….

The chair, along with both of the girls, the pet lizard,  _ and  _ their little table, are absolutely covered in paint. Gwen gives her papa a big, half toothy grin, “Papa! Look! Ella is giving me a makeover! I’m going to look so pretty when I save the princess!”

Kilgarah makes a noise as if he’s getting a kick out of the mayhem. He probably is. The bastard. Ella looks quite guilty. She knew  _ exactly _ what she was doing. Tricking her sister and purposely making a huge mess.

“Uh huh…” Merlin turns his attention to Ella. She fidgets under his scrutiny, trying to hide her arms behind her. It doesn’t do much since she’s covered in all the colors of the rainbow up to her shoulders.

Arthur chooses that moment to enter the room. He almost drops the plate of bagel bites when he sees what’s happened.

“I was gone for two minutes!” he complains, setting down the plate in a small spot on the table that isn’t a rainbow mess. Kilgarah inspects it, but deems it inedible to his fine tastes.

Together, they manage to get the girls to the bathroom and cleaned up. Patting themselves on the back for not getting any on the floor while moving them.

...

By the time the girls are all cleaned, they pass out on the living room sofa within moments of sitting down. 

When they finally make it back to the room, the bagel bites are cold and the table might as well be a lost cause. It’s layers of rainbow paints is mostly dry all the way through. Not to mention the lizard prints that lead across the carpet and into the hall, most likely heading towards Merlin’s office where Kilgarah’s terrarium is kept. 

“I don’t know, I kinda like it. Reminds me of the time when we painted the living room,” Merlin admits, hands on his hips as he takes in the mess.

Arthur glances over at his husband, arms crossed in frustration. But the annoyance melts a little off his face, turning into a small fond smile

“Yeah, I guess you’re right…”

“Gasp! You admitted I was right!” Merlin replies dramatically, putting a hand over his mouth and everything.

Arthur shoves him. “Oh shut up.”

Merlin laughs, turning to rush out of the room before Arthur can give the next shove.

Arthur gives chase.


	4. Unwanted Early Mornings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NGL I hate dealing with children, especially rowdy or misbehaving ones. I got very small patience with them. However, reading cute lil kid fics and writing these few of my own makes me melt. Idk why, but I coo when reading them while avoiding the real thing at all costs :/

Merlin gets ripped from dreamland by the sound of large, fake wooden building blocks tumbling down the stairs. He’d be worried about the girls if it weren’t for the sounds of their giggles and roars that sound immediately after the crash.

Two pairs of tiny feet storm down the hallway and into their shared bedroom. GIggles and playful squeals follow them the entire way. 

Merlin sighs. There goes his ability to sleep in.

Arthur’s nose rubs against his back as the blond nuzzles his face in between Merlin’s shoulder blades. His husband is currently wrapped around him like some sort of Squid backpack. 

"Mm…your kids before five in the morning," the man mumbles sleepily into his skin. Merlin angles his head to see what time his alarm clock says.

4:37AM… On a  _ Sunday _ … 

He heaves another sigh

The twins are early wakers and tend to make a racket even more than usual when it’s the weekend. Merlin suspects it’s because they  _ know  _ that Arthur doesn’t have to go to work those days and that Merlin takes those days off from working on his online orders.

So, here they are. 

Once again, it’s Saturday, at 4:30 in the morning. Before even the ass crack of dawn, and the two seem to be playing what sounds like Godzilla and King Kong having a destroy-the-city contest.

“I can’t check it out if you won’t let go,” he grumbles, pinching the back of Arthur’s hand. 

The arms wrap even tighter around him as Arthur mumbles again. “Mmmmm comfy though….”

Another squeal and a crash which sounds uncomfortably similar to furniture being tipped over echo into their bedroom from down the hall.

Arthur groans, giving a nip to the back of Merlin’s neck before finally releasing him. “Fine, but be quick, will ya? I want more time with my personal bed warmer.”

“Wow, love you too,  _ husband _ .” He rolls his eyes and quickly goes to check up on the girls. Luckily, it was only their rocking chair and matching rocking foot stool that was tipped over and neither of them were hurt. 

Merlin ushers the twins downstairs and plants them in front of the TV to watch morning cartoons while they shove poptarts in their face.

Normally the girls have cereal or Merlin makes scrambled eggs and ham, but on Saturdays, he allows the girls to have some pop tarts as actual breakfast instead of a sugary afternoon snack. Sundays tend to be Eggo or pancake days.

Ella and Gwen happily shove the sugar treats in their mouths, promising to be well behaved under threat of not going to the park later in the day.

With that settled, Merlin heads back upstairs to continue cuddle time with Arthur. The blond loves it, but still refuses to call it that. Even though that’s  _ exactly _ what it is.

They only last another half hour before the two girls are barging into the bedroom and climbing under the sheets to lay between them. The two can’t even be mad because their daughters are just too cute and they love them too much.

Thankfully, the girls fall asleep in a matter of moments. What was husband cuddle time turns into sleepy family group cuddles. 

None of them would have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will most likely be the end of this cluster, but don’t worry about the series! There’s still two more stories planned before we have to say goodbye to this AU!  
Two more installments of this series, then I’ll be putting all my focus on the holiday fics I’ve planned and my Swing to the Melody BNHA long fic. Be prepared for some Supernatural and BNHA stories coming up!

**Author's Note:**

> I legit kept having to hold back tears as I wrote this at work. Idk, I just got a lot of emotions over this TT^TT


End file.
